The opinions expressed in this column do not neces- sarily reflect those of the staff of this publication, or _of the Student Union.

‘He shoots! He scores!

Weare all familure with the excitement of the last seconds ofa big game. The anticipation of finding out who the winners and the loser are. The thrill of the victory and the sorrow of the defeat.

I guess the question is how important are these big ‘games to the students at UPEI? This is a question that i is seldom asked yet with the future financial problems we are facing, maybe we should be asking ‘sucha question. 3 The university is suppose to be an institute of higher Jearning. Where then do athletic teams fit into the picture? Are they part of the university experience, or ixather are they just an old tradition passed down over the years?

Thave always found it rather hypocritical for people to be big fans of university sports. I do not buy into the ‘‘Dumb Jock’’ idea yet ina number of cases, some of these athletes are at university solely to play sports. This is a small number, but it still happens. The coaches and the fans build these athletes up to Believe that there is a future in sports for them. We cheer them on atthe games, we see there photos in the paper, and we award them at the end of the year with trophies. Yet when it is all over, they come out of university not good enough for major league sports, yet with such a poor education they have trouble finding jobs. Itreminds me of the picture of a person Ih olding a carrot in front on the horse in order to get it fo move, yet never letting it eat the carrot.

We must also start to look at the resources that are being allotted to the athletic departments for these sports teams. Should resources be spent on sports father then education? In the next few years, more and More pressure will be put on the university to cut

| ‘ rvices or increase tuition. I think sports is one area that should be looked atasa possible place for cutting course allocation.

makes me wonder why we have sports teams at the University in the first place, We could have more

academic competition within the university instead of

athletic competitions. This would seem more in line with the purpose ofa university. I would never pass as a history major but I would assume that the idea of

_ sports at the university level is a leftover of our past.

A time when male dominated sports were as important to the university as the academics that were going on in the classroom.

I think it is time that this old tradition die and we start a more modern approach to recourse allocation within the university. An approach where education comes first and foremost; where student educational needs are looked after as best as the resources at hand allow and only after that are other activities persued.

After all, with the tough economic choices that we are all facing, we must remember what our university is

here to do. That is my opinion, I welcome yours.

Trying hard to be a good sport,

due 9686959669696

Cory Large

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UPEI X-P RESS

March 5, 1992